Every one knows that a good blowjob can make your day, but with wall-to-wall parties during Fetish Week …London and the kinkiest crowd imaginable, there’s a chance it’ll make your whole week – or should that be, ‘hole weak’. Anthony Gilét spoke to Recon Events Manager Antoin Strachan to get the dirt on the down ‘n’ dirty…
It seems Fetish Week continues to grow year-by-year…
Yes, it continues to grow – at an alarmingly fast rate. We knew there was a gap in the UK market for such a fetish event and its increase in popularity and in international visitors shows that we’re heading in the right direction. Visitors are now coming from across Europe, Australia, America and the Far East. We’re hopefully doing something right.
How have you been contributing to the goings on?
As the Event Manager for Recon, I’m ideally responsible for organising the event. I talk to the sponsors, the venues, the media and also work closely with some of my co-workers. My job is to bring their ideas to fruition and hopefully produce an event which London and the fetish scene, in general, can be proud of.
There are sure to be first-timers who may be a little wary about attending a fetish party – any words of advice?
I was a little wary at my first fetish event, but you quickly realise that most people are just out to have a good time. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere – even with so much sexual tension in the air. As soon as you realise that everyone else is there for the same thing you are, you begin to relax.
There are over 50 events throughout the week. Which would you highlight as the essential ones to attend?
We’ve tried to encourage as many of the bars, clubs and fetish retail stores to put on their own events during Fetish Week – and we would help them to promote. But we have a list of “Official” events which are growing in popularity every year, like The Sports Party [Thursday night at Hoist]. The Fetish Week Dinner is also a new concept for London, but becoming more popular. NEXUS is the Friday night party with a “black gear only” dress code, and on the Sunday we have the ‘Rubber’ party at Covert, and the closing party, ‘Deconstruction’, at The Hoist. I know a lot of people that don’t make it to work or they turn up and need a lot of coffee to perk them up…
The main event, the Full Fetish party, takes place at The Coronet on Saturday 13th. For someone that hasn’t attended the party before – what can they expect?
The Coronet is a massive venue, but that should actually put people’s mind at ease. There will be a lot of room for everyone. We’ve got an upstairs VIP room and four separate arches, which will be dedicated to specific types of play: bondage, FF, WS and general cruising. We’ve got a huge fetish dance floor and an amazing list of international DJs – from San Francisco, Argentina, London and Berlin. And the sound and lighting effects will be amazing. Full Fetish is the main party of Fetish Week London. It’s different because it’s the biggest party, which is open to all fetish dress codes. You can expect to see guys in leather, rubber, skinhead, sports gear, Masters with their slaves and handlers with their pups. We’ve even had a few guys out in suits and ties – a popular fetish as well. It’s definitely the party with the largest fetish playground and the guys are out in full force.
What’s your favourite memory from a Fetish Week event?
My favourite was chatting to a group of guys that came from Australia and another group that came from Japan – just for Fetish Week. And they’re coming back this year. Amazing!
• See www.fetishweek.com for full details of Fetish Week events
